Northwest Reverb - Reflections by James Bash and others about classical music in the Pacific Northwest and beyond

Monday, July 27, 2015

Portland Opera offers Free Street Fair and Simulcast of "The Elixir of Love" this Saturday

From the press release:

Portland Opera’s 50th anniversary season concludes
with a community-wide celebration featuring a Street Fair and free
simulcast on August 1, 2015.

To coincide with its last performance of Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love
taking place in the Newmark Theatre, Portland Opera is hosting a daylong
Street Fair on SW Main Street between the Antoinette Hatfield
Hall and the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Festivities will include
family-friendly activities, Portland Opera To Go performances, a live
band, and a free simulcast. The Elixir of Love will be sung in Italian
with supertitles projected in English.

“We saved the best for last,” says Portland Opera’s General Director
Christopher Mattaliano of the Street Fair and of Donizetti’s beloved bel
canto work, The Elixir of Love. “With this celebration, I would like to
extend my heartfelt thanks to all of the volunteers, donors, patrons,
artists, board members, and staff–both past and present–who have
given so generously to make Portland Opera into one of the leading
regional opera companies in the United States.”

Portland Opera’s Street Fair and simulcast are the finale in a year of
programs that included five main stage productions, a new bilingual
production of The Barber of Seville for the annual Portland Opera To
Go education and outreach tour, the 20th anniversary of the Broadway
Across America series, the 10th anniversary of the Resident Artist
program, the fifth anniversary of the free Open Chorus rehearsal in
Director Park, a new film series, workshops, public lectures, and more.

STREET FAIR EVENT TIMELINE
Noon-10:00pm | SW Main St. between the Antoinette Hatfield Hall and
the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall | FreeNoon-1 pmChildren’s Activities
Crafts, face painting, and selfies in front of the Wells Fargo stage
coach1-1:50 pmOpera Improv Performance
Help create a “mini-opera” in a “Choose Your Own Adventure” format.
Lively, informative, interactive, unexpected—and most of all—fun!2-3 pmChildren’s Activities
Crafts, face painting, and selfies in front of the Wells Fargo stage
coach3-3:50 pmOpera Improv Performance
Help create a “mini-opera” in a “Choose Your Own Adventure” format.
Lively, informative, interactive, unexpected—and most of all—fun!4-5 pmChildren’s Activities
Crafts, face painting, and selfies in front of the Wells Fargo stage coach5:30-6:45 pmLive Band: Will West and the Friendly Strangers
In a nod to the Wild West setting of Portland Opera’s production The Elixir of Love, Portland bluegrass band Will West and the Friendly Strangers will set the tone for the night with a performance that will transition the outdoor festivities from Street Fair to simulcast.7:30pmSimulcast
The Elixir of Love, Gaetano Donizetti
The cowpoke Nemorino goes from doormat to dreamboat and wins the hand of high-falutin’ Adina, thanks to a double dose of Dr. Dulcamara’s 40-proof love potion. The Elixir of Love will be set in the American Wild West of the 1880s, a delightfully inventive and uniquely appropriate locale for the action.

Thank you to our sponsorsSupport for The Elixir of Love is provided by the James F. and Marion L.Miller Foundation, RACC, Work for Art, the Oregon Arts Commission, Meyer Memorial Trust, and the Collins Foundation. The Street Faircelebration is sponsored by Wells Fargo.